Iraq

Multinational military operations in Iraq against the Islamic State (ISIS) intensified over 2017, with Iraqi forces retaking most of the country. Key human rights challenges in the post-ISIS phase include fair trials for ISIS suspects that allow for victim participation, protection of families of suspected ISIS members from collective punishment, free movement of the displaced, cessation of forced returns and displacements, and accountability for abuses by anti-ISIS forces. On September 25, the Kurdistan Regional Government held a non-binding referendum on independence which passed. In response the federal Iraqi government retook parts of the disputed territories.